I used to buy and sell on eBay but no longer due because of the number of people using it to commit fraud and steal money or product. We all know it is a risk when we buy or sell anyplace online. It just seems that because eBay is so big it is more of a target. I want to provide information and other people’s stories so we can try and protect ourselves both as buyers and sellers.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

How to deal with buyer fraud on eBay

We got burned big time selling on eBay. We learned a lot of what not to do from this and stories from other people. I have put our story in so you know that these things really happen and are not urban myths. I have also taken the information I received from 100’s of people burned on eBay, both sellers and buyers, and used it to give you an idea of what happens and how to keep it from happening to you. If you are going to sell on eBay you need to know how to deal with buyer fraud on eBay. The best thing to do is to prevent it because it is very difficult to fix once it happens.

We put my Grandmothers ring on just before Mothers day. We got an email asking if we would be willing to ship that day as the person wanted it for Mothers day. The person had been on eBay for years and had a 100% rating. They were using Paypal to pay so we felt it would be secure. We said yes. They paid the $1116.00 right away. Once the payment was processed we took the ring to Fedex. By by ring. The next day about 24 hrs after the transaction Paypal notifies us that the transaction was fraudulent. We were one of about 10 people hit all on the same day all for rings worth about $1000.00 to $2000.00, ours was apprised over $1800.00.

Some one had gotten into another persons eBay and Paypal account and then used them to buy items. So we contacted Fedex to put a return to sender on it. It had already made it to customs and we would not be able to get it back until it cleared customs at the other end. At this point in time we were out the $116.00 it cost us to ship it.

Then we get a call from Fedex. The stop shipment order never made it to the ring. The person it was delivered to refuse to pay the Indonesian custom charges. Indonesian customs would not release the ring unless some one paid the $381.00 custom charges. Fedex explained to them that there was a stop shipment on the item and it should never have made it to customs. Indonesian customs response, not their problem, the custom charges had to be paid or they confiscate the ring to pay the charges.

We spent a week talking with Fedex trying to sort this out. We were told to pay the custom fees or we would never see the ring again. We agreed to pay. To help us, Fedex agreed to pay for the custom fees and then bill us so we could make monthly payments. Ring was to show up on a Tuesday. That day, no ring. We decide to wait until Wednesday afternoon before calling Fedex. Wednesday morning we get a call from Fedex. The Indonesian customs now wants over $900 for us to get the ring back, they had added about $600.00 in storage and handling fees for the week we were talking to Fedex.

Fedex stepped in at this point and said “no way”. They started negotiations and after about a month they were able to get the Indonesian Government to step in. We still had to pay the initial custom charges of $381.00 though. So by selling my Grandmothers ring on eBay we were out $497.00. The other sellers lost the rings. The person who bought them asked that they put a low value on the ring so they would not be charged the custom fees, so the rings were delivered right to them. Others lost them to the Indonesian customs because the customs fee was so high. We were the only ones to get the ring back. This person did get away with it, and nothing will be done to them.

Did we contact eBay and Paypal over this? Yes! We had to use emails though as there seems to be no way to contact them any other way. The end result was they refunded us our insertion fee and final auction fee. That is all they do for sellers. There is no protection for sellers, just buyers. That was it. EBay did nothing for us, even though some one had used a legitimate eBay account. Paypal at lest looked into it. About a month after they had contacted us about the possible fraudulent transaction they let us know that it was a fraudulent transaction. That was it. No explanation for how this happened, and no help with the debt we now have because of the sale.

We learned from this experience. If some thing seems to good to be true, it is. Hold all Paypal transactions for at least 3 days to make sure it is a legitimate purchase, then ship item. Do not list large ticket items or items you are not willing to loose. We do not sell on eBay anymore.

We shared out story with quite a few people and were told quite a few other eBay horror stories. Most are from sellers. Why, because eBay does nothing to protect sellers, just buyers and then only for 30 days. Common buyer stories, items were purchased, product was never shipped, and not the item bid on, did not work or was damaged. As long as it was with in 30 days eBay would negotiate for a new product to be shipped or money refunded. Paypal is best to use when buying because if you don’t receive the product ordered you can cancel the transaction with in 30 days and get your money back.

None of this does the buyer any good it the seller was using some one else’s account, fraudulently posting items for sale and then never shipping. You never know who actually put the item out for sale. The person whose account was used usually has no idea who or even how some one posted listings on their account. Another one is to open an eBay account list lots of products, get the payments and shut down the account.This has been happening a lot. They have you send the money through Western Union and you never see the product or your money back. As a buyer you need to make sure you read the whole ad. If it says “as is” then what you get is it, and chances are it does not work or is damaged. If there is no shipping and handling fee listed, do not bid until you know what the cost is. I had one person charge me $10.00 shipping and handling for a $1.00 item that only cost $2.00 to ship. Check every thing out, and if you have any questions get them answered using the eBay emails so there is a record of the emails right on eBay.

Sellers get hit harder and more often then buyers. People will send bad cheques, which is why you never ship until the cheque clears. The most common scam is people get the product and then say they never received it and expect you to send more products or refund the money. You pay extra to have items insured and signature required when product is delivered. It may cost you more but it stops people from being able to say they never received it. And if they actually did not well then the insurance you paid for should cover that, it was a delivery service problem.

People will claim the product was damaged when received. Always take a picture of product before you send it, and again insure it so that if the shipping company damages it it is their problem. You have to get a picture of the product showing the damage when the person receives item. The problem sellers have is that they damage the item on purpose, or have a similar item damaged and claim it is the same one. This was a problem an eBay seller selling laptops was having. He recorded and photographed all numbers on the laptop and was able to prove several times that the item people claimed to be the one he shipped to them was not the same one.

Another scam he came across was people would receive his product, scratch it up, take a picture of it and claim it was received “damaged” or not as advertised in the eBay ad. It was always cosmetic damage. They would then email him and say refund me half the money because the product was damaged or I will give you a bad review for sending damaged goods. This one there is no real way to protect yourself from. You don’t give them the money they try to trash your reputation. Your only recourse is to refute the damage claim through eBay feedback.

I would NEVER do an international eBay sale much less one for over $1000.

It's very simple, NEVER EVER Sell internationally on eBay.

I've been selling since 1997 on eBay and I've never once sold anything internationally. Many buyers have begged me to do it but I REFUSE due to the risk involved.

If international buyers want to buy your item, it's because they are PLANNING to scam you.

The thing about eBay and life is, it's up to YOU to be smart and watch your own back. Don't blame others for YOUR mistakes.

Thank you Trish for your wise words, I'm sure however that VERY FEW PEOPLE will appreciate the wisdom, the world is a bunch of whiners and crybabies who want to blame everyone but themselves when things go wrong.

hey guys, just want to share my experience, it was my first time selling on ebay and someone bought my item a feel hours after i put it up! i was so excited that it sold so fast but then the emails the guy sent me seemed a bit dodgy, and i tried to not sell it to him but he insisted, finally i issued him a paypal invoice and he replied saying he paid me straight away, and i got a email from a address like

service@paypal.intl.com

saying they had paid me already and i can now ship the laptop! how thick did he think i am?! anyway just want to tell everyone be very careful!! there are many scammers out there!!

DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH SERIOUS, OBEDIENT THE SELLER MAY BE...EBAY ALWAYS LOOKS FOR AN EXCUSE TO GIVE THE BUYER THE RIGHT...THIS IS WHY THE BUYERS FEEL THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO ABUSE, DISCRIMINATE, DEMAND AND USE THREATENING TACTICS. A BUYER FROM ALGERIA BOUGHT A LAPTOP FROM ME, THE BUYER MAKES HIS PAYMENT TO PAYPAL, I NOTICE THE PAYMENT IS PLACED ON “HOLD” WHICH IS SOMETHING VERY STRANGE. WHEN I SEARCH THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PAYMENT SAYING THAT THE PAYMENT WOULD BE RELEASED IN 19 DAYS ONCE THE BUYER RECEIVED THE ITEM. WHEN I WENT TO THE POSTAL SERVICE TO SEND THE PACKAGE, A SUPERVISOR SERIOUSLY WARNED ME NOT TO SEND THE PACKAGE BECAUSE THEY HAD DEALT WITH MANY SCAMMING IN ALGERIA. I RETURN WITH THE PACKAGE AND CALL PAYPAL AND TELL THEM THE STORY AND THEY TELL ME NOT TO WORRY THAT ITS NOT ALGERIA BUT RATHER NIGERIA WHERE THE SCAMMERS ARE. I GOT A VERY BAD FEELING WITH THIS BUYER FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT I TRUSTED PAYPAL WHEN THEY TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE NO PROBLEM WITH ME SENDING IT AS LONG AS I SENT IT WITH A TRACKING NUMBER I WAS COVERED. I FELL INTO PAYPAL’S TRAP AND WAS TRICKED BY PAYPAL. AFTER 5 DAYS I RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM THE BUYER SAYING THE PACKAGE WAS BEING “HELD UP” AT CUSTOMS WITH A MADE UP STORY BY THE BUYER SAYING THAT CUSTOMS WAS SAYING THAT THE PACKAGE WAS “SUSPICIOUS”. I TOLD THE BUYER TO GO TO CUSTOMS AND CLAIM HIS PACKAGE SINCE THE “SUSPICIOUS” PACKAGE WAS A MADE UP STORY. THE BUYER RESPONDED BY PLACING A DISPUTE ON EBAY AND TWO DAYS AFTER THE BUYER’S PAYMENT ON “HOLD” DISAPPEARED FROM MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT. I GAVE EBAY PROOF OF THE TRACKING NUMBER AND THAT THE PACKAGE HAD ARRIVED AT ITS DESTINATION SINCE PAYPAL HAD ASSURED ME THAT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THEM TO RELEASE THE FUNDS TO ME. THEY LIED! EBAY VIOLATED THEIR OWN POLICY AND GAVE THE BUYER THE MONEY. WHAT WAS THE FINAL RESULTS OF THIS DISAGREEABLE EXPERIENCE? I LOST $433.00, NOT $100.00 OR $200.00, BUT $433.00, YOU READ CORRECTLY, PLUS I LOST A NEW LAPTOP HP PAVILION 17.3” AND $80.00 FOR SHIPPING. WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS??? I CALL IT STEALING, FRAUD, SCAM, ETC… AFTER READING SEVERAL SIMILAR EXPERIENCES FROM SELLERS, I HAVE PROVEN THAT THIS IS THE TACTICS THE SCAMMERS USE. THEY ORDER THE ITEM AND THEN REPORT THAT THEY NEVER RECEIVED IT. THIS IS ENOUGH FOR EBAY TO KISS THE BUYER’S ASS AND ALLOW THE BUYER TO KEEP THE MONEY PLUS THE ITEM. TO SUM UP MATTERS, FOR EBAY WE SELLERS MEAN SHIT TO THEM. ANY INTERNATIONAL SCAMMER AND DELINQUENT HAS MORE RIGHTS THAN WE DO AS AMERICAN CITIZENS, TAX PAYERS AND WORK HARD TO PRODUCE FOR THIS COUNTRY’S ECONOMY. IT IS TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS INJUSTICE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE MONSTROUS MAFIA THAT IS EBAY….SOMEONE RECOMMEND WHAT LEGAL ACTION I CAN TAKE AGAINST EBAY. ANY ADVISE OR COMMENT YOU CAN WRITE TO ME AT THE FOLLOWING EMAIL: lucia.morales2000@hotmail.com IT IS TIME TO PUT A STOP TO THIS CORRUPTION AND MANIPULATION BY THIS GIANT MAFIA… THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY EXPERIENCE…

DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH SERIOUS, OBEDIENT THE SELLER MAY BE...EBAY ALWAYS LOOKS FOR AN EXCUSE TO GIVE THE BUYER THE RIGHT...THIS IS WHY THE BUYERS FEEL THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO ABUSE, DISCRIMINATE, DEMAND AND USE THREATENING TACTICS. A BUYER FROM ALGERIA BOUGHT A LAPTOP FROM ME, THE BUYER MAKES HIS PAYMENT TO PAYPAL, I NOTICE THE PAYMENT IS PLACED ON “HOLD” WHICH IS SOMETHING VERY STRANGE. WHEN I SEARCH THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PAYMENT SAYING THAT THE PAYMENT WOULD BE RELEASED IN 19 DAYS ONCE THE BUYER RECEIVED THE ITEM. WHEN I WENT TO THE POSTAL SERVICE TO SEND THE PACKAGE, A SUPERVISOR SERIOUSLY WARNED ME NOT TO SEND THE PACKAGE BECAUSE THEY HAD DEALT WITH MANY SCAMMING IN ALGERIA. I RETURN WITH THE PACKAGE AND CALL PAYPAL AND TELL THEM THE STORY AND THEY TELL ME NOT TO WORRY THAT ITS NOT ALGERIA BUT RATHER NIGERIA WHERE THE SCAMMERS ARE. I GOT A VERY BAD FEELING WITH THIS BUYER FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT I TRUSTED PAYPAL WHEN THEY TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE NO PROBLEM WITH ME SENDING IT AS LONG AS I SENT IT WITH A TRACKING NUMBER I WAS COVERED. I FELL INTO PAYPAL’S TRAP AND WAS TRICKED BY PAYPAL. AFTER 5 DAYS I RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM THE BUYER SAYING THE PACKAGE WAS BEING “HELD UP” AT CUSTOMS WITH A MADE UP STORY BY THE BUYER SAYING THAT CUSTOMS WAS SAYING THAT THE PACKAGE WAS “SUSPICIOUS”. I TOLD THE BUYER TO GO TO CUSTOMS AND CLAIM HIS PACKAGE SINCE THE “SUSPICIOUS” PACKAGE WAS A MADE UP STORY. THE BUYER RESPONDED BY PLACING A DISPUTE ON EBAY AND TWO DAYS AFTER THE BUYER’S PAYMENT ON “HOLD” DISAPPEARED FROM MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT. I GAVE EBAY PROOF OF THE TRACKING NUMBER AND THAT THE PACKAGE HAD ARRIVED AT ITS DESTINATION SINCE PAYPAL HAD ASSURED ME THAT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THEM TO RELEASE THE FUNDS TO ME. THEY LIED! EBAY VIOLATED THEIR OWN POLICY AND GAVE THE BUYER THE MONEY. WHAT WAS THE FINAL RESULTS OF THIS DISAGREEABLE EXPERIENCE? I LOST $433.00, NOT $100.00 OR $200.00, BUT $433.00, YOU READ CORRECTLY, PLUS I LOST A NEW LAPTOP HP PAVILION 17.3” AND $80.00 FOR SHIPPING. WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS??? I CALL IT STEALING, FRAUD, SCAM, ETC… AFTER READING SEVERAL SIMILAR EXPERIENCES FROM SELLERS, I HAVE PROVEN THAT THIS IS THE TACTICS THE SCAMMERS USE. THEY ORDER THE ITEM AND THEN REPORT THAT THEY NEVER RECEIVED IT. THIS IS ENOUGH FOR EBAY TO KISS THE BUYER’S ASS AND ALLOW THE BUYER TO KEEP THE MONEY PLUS THE ITEM. TO SUM UP MATTERS, FOR EBAY WE SELLERS MEAN SHIT TO THEM. ANY INTERNATIONAL SCAMMER AND DELINQUENT HAS MORE RIGHTS THAN WE DO AS AMERICAN CITIZENS, TAX PAYERS AND WORK HARD TO PRODUCE FOR THIS COUNTRY’S ECONOMY. IT IS TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS INJUSTICE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE MONSTROUS MAFIA THAT IS EBAY….SOMEONE RECOMMEND WHAT LEGAL ACTION I CAN TAKE AGAINST EBAY. ANY ADVISE OR COMMENT YOU CAN WRITE TO ME AT THE FOLLOWING EMAIL: lucia.morales2000@hotmail.com IT IS TIME TO PUT A STOP TO THIS CORRUPTION AND MANIPULATION BY THIS GIANT MAFIA… THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY EXPERIENCE…

DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH SERIOUS, OBEDIENT THE SELLER MAY BE...EBAY ALWAYS LOOKS FOR AN EXCUSE TO GIVE THE BUYER THE RIGHT...THIS IS WHY THE BUYERS FEEL THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO ABUSE, DISCRIMINATE, DEMAND AND USE THREATENING TACTICS. A BUYER FROM ALGERIA BOUGHT A LAPTOP FROM ME, THE BUYER MAKES HIS PAYMENT TO PAYPAL, I NOTICE THE PAYMENT IS PLACED ON “HOLD” WHICH IS SOMETHING VERY STRANGE. WHEN I SEARCH THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PAYMENT SAYING THAT THE PAYMENT WOULD BE RELEASED IN 19 DAYS ONCE THE BUYER RECEIVED THE ITEM. WHEN I WENT TO THE POSTAL SERVICE TO SEND THE PACKAGE, A SUPERVISOR SERIOUSLY WARNED ME NOT TO SEND THE PACKAGE BECAUSE THEY HAD DEALT WITH MANY SCAMMING IN ALGERIA. I RETURN WITH THE PACKAGE AND CALL PAYPAL AND TELL THEM THE STORY AND THEY TELL ME NOT TO WORRY THAT ITS NOT ALGERIA BUT RATHER NIGERIA WHERE THE SCAMMERS ARE. I GOT A VERY BAD FEELING WITH THIS BUYER FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT I TRUSTED PAYPAL WHEN THEY TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE NO PROBLEM WITH ME SENDING IT AS LONG AS I SENT IT WITH A TRACKING NUMBER I WAS COVERED. I FELL INTO PAYPAL’S TRAP AND WAS TRICKED BY PAYPAL. AFTER 5 DAYS I RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM THE BUYER SAYING THE PACKAGE WAS BEING “HELD UP” AT CUSTOMS WITH A MADE UP STORY BY THE BUYER SAYING THAT CUSTOMS WAS SAYING THAT THE PACKAGE WAS “SUSPICIOUS”. I TOLD THE BUYER TO GO TO CUSTOMS AND CLAIM HIS PACKAGE SINCE THE “SUSPICIOUS” PACKAGE WAS A MADE UP STORY. THE BUYER RESPONDED BY PLACING A DISPUTE ON EBAY AND TWO DAYS AFTER THE BUYER’S PAYMENT ON “HOLD” DISAPPEARED FROM MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT. I GAVE EBAY PROOF OF THE TRACKING NUMBER AND THAT THE PACKAGE HAD ARRIVED AT ITS DESTINATION SINCE PAYPAL HAD ASSURED ME THAT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THEM TO RELEASE THE FUNDS TO ME. THEY LIED! EBAY VIOLATED THEIR OWN POLICY AND GAVE THE BUYER THE MONEY. WHAT WAS THE FINAL RESULTS OF THIS DISAGREEABLE EXPERIENCE? I LOST $433.00, NOT $100.00 OR $200.00, BUT $433.00, YOU READ CORRECTLY, PLUS I LOST A NEW LAPTOP HP PAVILION 17.3” AND $80.00 FOR SHIPPING. WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS??? I CALL IT STEALING, FRAUD, SCAM, ETC… AFTER READING SEVERAL SIMILAR EXPERIENCES FROM SELLERS, I HAVE PROVEN THAT THIS IS THE TACTICS THE SCAMMERS USE. THEY ORDER THE ITEM AND THEN REPORT THAT THEY NEVER RECEIVED IT. THIS IS ENOUGH FOR EBAY TO KISS THE BUYER’S ASS AND ALLOW THE BUYER TO KEEP THE MONEY PLUS THE ITEM. TO SUM UP MATTERS, FOR EBAY WE SELLERS MEAN SHIT TO THEM. ANY INTERNATIONAL SCAMMER AND DELINQUENT HAS MORE RIGHTS THAN WE DO AS AMERICAN CITIZENS, TAX PAYERS AND WORK HARD TO PRODUCE FOR THIS COUNTRY’S ECONOMY. IT IS TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS INJUSTICE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE MONSTROUS MAFIA THAT IS EBAY….SOMEONE RECOMMEND WHAT LEGAL ACTION I CAN TAKE AGAINST EBAY. ANY ADVISE OR COMMENT YOU CAN WRITE TO ME AT THE FOLLOWING EMAIL: lucia.morales2000@hotmail.com IT IS TIME TO PUT A STOP TO THIS CORRUPTION AND MANIPULATION BY THIS GIANT MAFIA… THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY EXPERIENCE…

First off you should know that Indonesia is a no-no. Ebay allows you to edit the countries you won't ship to. Ditto the Middle East, Africa, etc. Really just common sense!

Second. Had you skipped Fedex and went Paypal Priority. They would have covered it. Although probably not the full 1000.00.

Ebay is MOST definitely working for the Buyer and not the Seller. Each new seller hoop is another loophole for all the thieves to scam you. Ebay wants you to be upset that you don't get your 20% discount as a Top Rated Seller, so you will bend over backwards to keep the thieves happy. Nearly 1/4 of my sales involve some type of scam and that veiled threat of jacking your feedback so your DSR's will suck and you will lose TRS status. Screw em! Build the 20% into your price and let the jerks bad mouth you. We do a fantastic job and have 99.9% feedback and cannot get back our TRS status (we had it for almost 1 year)because of said jerks. If you don't play their game they screw up your DSR's! But now that it's TRS =20% or everyone else nothing we cannot achieve it. It only take a few a**holes to mess your DSR's to knock you out. We won't play the "it's wrong give me half my money back" game. You don't like the item - send it back and we'll give you all your money back. They never do. Because there was nothing wrong with the item in the first place. But of course now the buyer will screw your DSR's

There is a great E-mail from a former Ebay employee floating around out there that shows all their key plans for the next 5 years. The bottom line: they DON'T want you selling on their site anymore! They want to be Amazon (who is by the way kicking their ass red) but they are not. Ebay houses no product, ships no product and buys no product. So they have created a ridiculous set of rules for sellers to follow in the HOPES that you will fail and leave. That is their ultimate goal. Bye bye small to medium sellers. Hello! big sellers who can absorb any loss to placate the thieves.

Bottom line. They have you by the short & curlys. Where else can you go: Etsy (please), BooCoo (which rhymes with who), Ioffer (I think not - no buyers), Bonanza (the shining light (but needs a lot of tweaking to be a serious threat).

I have had a few experiences where Buyer's try to rip me off, and right now I am going through one. I recently auctioned off some sterling wares with some pieces containing glasses, I'd spent 3 hours polishing them and making sure they were neat. I then wrapped them with hand towels and bubble wraps and extreme taping. I fitted them all into a flat rate large USPS box, they all fit and I stashed empty Walmart bags in between gaps to make sure they do not shift during shipping. I asked the post office lady to plase stamp the box fragile in which she did in front of me. Today, the buyer received the item and claimed that my sterling bowl was broken, but I padded the inside of the bowl as well as double wrapped it in bubble wraps. It did not cave in because I padded it. The buyer demanded a refund. I agreed if he returned all my items and takes some pictures for me to view of the damage. Good thing I insured the items too! He then responded back that I refund him partial for the items, but I refused to, because I wanted to see the items damage and have them back since the sterling scrap value is more than what he paid in the auction. It was sketchy to me, but from one experience in the past I knew he was trying to scam me for partial refund and keep my items. I looked at his feedback and he has a few neutral feedback stating that his ads were misleading. I guess this goes to show how dishonest he is. Sellers beware...if their feedback ain't good, BLOCK THEM! Save yourself some time, money, and trouble!

I just put a laptop for sale on e-bay which i bought for myself but didn't really feel like keeping.I got a good deal on this laptop & could return it to the store I bought this from, but thought to sell it on e-bay for some extra bucks! To my surprise, somebody bought it for the 'buy it now' price (10% above the bid price)!!! just with in a hour after I listed it!!! i sure did't know I was that lucky lol...I am not really sure what to do as this buyer registered on the same day, has 0 reviews, this is probably his/ her first deal on e-bay (from this account!)...Can I cancel this or some how prevent myself from getting conned without having a bad review (just in case this person in real & honest!)

Yes. All the bad stuff happened to me too, Most recent, I sold gift card worth $455. Buyer spent money in his state, and then filed paypal claim on me, saying there was no money on card. I am working with the security at the store & the police! The scammer will NOT get away with it. PS- Ebay refunded the thief!!!

Yes. All the bad stuff happened to me too, Most recent, I sold gift card worth $455. Buyer spent money in his state, and then filed paypal claim on me, saying there was no money on card. I am working with the security at the store & the police! The scammer will NOT get away with it. PS- Ebay refunded the thief!!!

Yes. All the bad stuff happened to me too, Most recent, I sold gift card worth $455. Buyer spent money in his state, and then filed paypal claim on me, saying there was no money on card. I am working with the security at the store & the police! The scammer will NOT get away with it. PS- Ebay refunded the thief!!!

I am having the same issue . the buyer got me to send to a different address and e-bay informed me that this was ok as he used the e-bay messaging system to request this. he first said it was not received. then said it was damaged (i know it wasnt) it was a chess set and he paid £620 . i sent using parcel force insured delivery. funny thing is he refuses to communicate through e-bay. since he got my number and e-mail. he paid i transfered the money instantly and its in my account and was before i dispatched the item as i smelt a rat from the off. i cancelled my direct debit with e-bay and reported my card lost as e-bay make a log of your 3 digit security code on the back of your card. if they dont have this they cannot take cash from your account using pay pal (i will point out that it is illegal to save these card details in the UK) but e-bay and paypal are basically the same company and thier base is in Belgium who convieniently have little online trading laws. like we have in uk and usa. so to cut a long story short Pay pal do not use Direct debit they pretend that when taking fees from your bank account or credit card that it is a telephone transaction to make this instant for them . but i wised up to this ages ago, so if any of you fall foul just cancell all cards and report them stolen but only after you have recieved your full payment. and for you that think e-bay and pay pal are great then one day you will find out the hard way. they are the thieves helping the thieves they dont give a toss cos they get thier cut. and as for feedback then dont worrie just close your account then open another they allow this, I know I have done it and even used the same IP and e-mail addy... what a joke ..... but I am proud to say that i have never abused these loop holes as I have to sleep at night unlike e-Bay, Paypal and the scammers.

Sold a higher-end piece of used electronics to a buyer.Buyer pays promptly using PayPal.I immediately ship item in most economical means (as that was was paid for).On the same day as delivery, I get a dispute: "Item not as described."When messaging the buyer, asking for details. I got none. Only that there were "scuffs and marks" and that it was "not in good condition". Buyer also states that similar items on eBay sell for much less and offer more (Buyer's Remorse red flag, right there).In which, I replied that these were noted in the description.Buyer escalates dispute to a claim asking for $85 credit and throws on a list of issues (not previous mentioned).I respond (in the limited 1200 character rebuttal you get) that my listing clearly states not only my policies but that the item's condition. I even supported my stance using verbatim from the Buyer's Protection Policy itself!

Can you guess what happens next?

Not 24 hours later, eBay determines in favor of the buyer. REFUND FOR THE FULL AMOUNT UPON RETURN OF THE ITEM!!!

All the while, PayPal (which is a subsidiary of eBay) holds the total amount of the purchase (several hundred dollars, mind you). This HURTS my business drastically. For every one unit I sell, it buys two at wholesale. But now due to the hold, not only is my seller power weakened by this garbage, but my buying power as well.

The BUYER'S REMORSE SCAM is an easy one to pull off. So now I wait for an item that will not likely be in nearly as good condition as I sent. I've been "baited and switched" by the buyer and eBay doesn't care. They got their nearly 13% for the listing that keeps them running while the buyer has invested nothing.

I'm off of eBay and moving to Amazon. While their customer service policies are also strict, they tend to be much more unilateral when it comes to disputes.

Ugh! Just this morning I had a buyer contact me to complain that she misunderstood how many items she would receive in the lot that she purchased. She then contacted me to say that 5 of them were broken. I asked for pictures showing the broken items but she claims that she threw them away and cleaned up the "mess". I've sold numerous lots just like this one and have never had so much as 1 single item leak or break and they are all carefully bubble wrapped and packed. It's very apparent that she has buyers remorse so I'll offer her a full refund IF she returns all of the items included in the lot.

bs20102010 - This buyer is one you need to block. I don't want to discuss the details of the case, but I can assure you after selling on eBay all these years I've never encountered a buyer like this, and I have literally thousands of feedbacks and sales under my belt. I also have a friend who has over 4000+ feedbacks under her belt on eBay as a seller. She read all the things bs20102010 said on the dispute and is aware of how this person handled the transaction. Even my friend, who sells exclusively on eBay with over 4,000+ sales under her belt, said she never encountered a buyer such as bs20102010 and has blocked that buyer in addition to a family member of hers who sells on eBay. Even the guy who works in eBay's resolution dept. told me they were flagging her account as a high-risk buyer! Even the next person I spoke with from eBay suggested that I block bs20102010. When a person, on the other end of the phone from eBay, tells you to block a particular buyer, you should! Trust me, save yourself a big hassle and block BS20102010.

I sold an antique 1 of a kind violin ($1450.00) on eBay to a violin manufacturer in the UK. I had 12 of the largest images that ebay would allow and stated I did not know much about these strange violins and to Please Ask Questions. Well after the violin was in the buyers hands for a few days I get an email that said it was not as described. I immediately went into my Paypal account and withdrew 700.00 (all I had) and sent it to my bank account. I started communicating with the buyer and found out the SOB has a wikipedia page devoted to his expertise making violins and cellos. When I saw the paypal deposit come in I immediately froze my bank account. But I did it 2 hours too early and the money is still bouncing around somewhere. But what is great so far in I have a negative $1450.00 charge on paypal. This buyer (a company) measured and studied the design and craftsmanship to reproduce and then bounced the payment. So because this was over 100 years old (1903) I own the intellectual rights which they stole, the design and construction techniques are mine. Still waiting on the ebay decision but if I dont get that money reinstated then we are going to small claims court. It is so easy to do and they HAVE to send a rep from Paypal or eBay to defend themselves. So when you start to have a dispute, lock your bank account because THEY WILL HELP THEMSELVES TO THAT MONEY BACK RIGHT OUT OF YOUR LINKED ACCOUNT. You should have a Paypal only account with $1.00 in it. You can have them transfer money into that account but IMMEDIATELY remove that money to a safe account and leave $1.00 in it. Then you can argue your case and they will not get the money back until you agree to send it back. It's our very own loophole if you do it right, LETS FIGHT BACK!!

Trish is not an idiot. While I really feel bad for what happened to the author's ring and his resulting loss due to the scam, there were many "omg, how could you be so stupid..." thoughts running through my head as I read this blogger's story.

And the other comments about how they were scammed as a seller all have one common theme - the seller must have been living under a rock for the last 10 years because it's COMMON KNOWLEDGE not to sell to any one of the following "scammer countries/regions": Malaysia, Indonesia, and Africa. Why do you think ALL online retailer websites say "we do not accept orders from Indonesia or Malaysia"?! Hello! You think maybe there's a reason for this?! If Sears or Walmart won't ship to these parts of the world (and they're huge companies), why on earth would YOU try to?!

The second common theme to the sellers here who have been ripped off is: didn't you think twice about selling something super expensive to someone you didn't know, in another country, over the internet, where the buyer's region has a super high reputation for fraud, and most importantly where there would be nothing you could do as far as court/legal action is concerned (since they're foreign)?Seems to me like the sellers here who've been scammed lack basic common sense, or don't trust their first instincts - like the one seller who was told by PayPal, "oh it's OK to send it to Algeria because all the scammers are in Nigeria; just get tracking..." I mean, come on, are you kidding me! You're going to put more value on some low-paid Indian PayPal phone clerk than in your own judgement?!

Anyway, I know my rant sounds harsh, but I really don't mean to insult or offend anyone here, I just wanted to drive the point home. I'm an eBay seller myself, and I've sold over 20,000 items - so I know how it feels when there's a buyer who's giving you massive problems. But even though I've gone through many transactions, I must say that I've never experienced the kind of scams that are mentioned on this page. I do however live by some "rules of thumb" that I think all small to medium sellers should follow. And they are:

1) DO NOT ship internationally. I actually USED to sell internationally, and while most transactions go OK, the one's that go bad, are REALLY bad. It's just not worth it. You're going to get AT MOST only a 15% increase in sales volume.

2) Offer free shipping whenever you can - buyers are so stupid when it comes to shipping costs. They will sometimes give you a low DSR even if it cost you MORE to ship than you actually charged them!

3) Try not to have auctions end on Friday because if your buyer pays that day, and you ship the package, there's a two day delay time (over the weekend) where your package won't move. Some buyers think waiting three BUSINESS days to get their item is an eternity and will give you a 3 DSR for shipping time even though you shipped immediately after payment.

4) NEVER put anything in the auction pics that is not included in what you are selling! Buyers are so stupid and lazy - don't assume they will actually READ your auction description, because they WON'T! You could say in big bold letters on top of your auction "DOES NOT INCLUDE SUCH AND SUCH...," but trust me, they won't see it. And when they get your package, they'll complain with something like, "oh I just read your auction description and only NOW I realize that it didn't come with that thing in the picture..." YES, I've gotten this exact kind of complaint before!

5) If there's something fishy about the buyer and from researching there eBay ID you suspect they could be a scammer - pay the extra fee for signature confirmation when you print your label. Then take your digital camera and video tape the packing of the item. Then when you get to the post office, video tape yourself dropping the package in the drop off receptacle. If you have a Droid phone, take out your phone and video tape the date/time on your phone - since you can't change the date/time on droid phones (it's always synched with the carrier's date/time), this should be good legal proof of the date & time you dropped off the package.

6) Don't downplay the condition of an item in hopes that it'll sell. Everyone has a different opinion of what "good" or "fair" condition means, and one person might think something is near mint while another thinks it's got regular wear & tear. Just don't sell a used item if it's not in a truly "almost-new" state. Everything else is subjective. I think the source of major disagreements on condition stems from the fact that some people just don't have 20/20 close-up vision, but they think they do (they might have 20/30 instead and not know it). So the seller with 20/30 close-up vision, who can read everything fine except really small print, looks at an item not being able to see a ton of small hairline scratches so he thinks it's new. Now he sends the item to someone with 20/20 close-up vision, and that guy sees a ton of hairline scratches and thinks, "my god, this thing is NOT like-new! I got ripped off!!" Two different people, looking at the same item, with two totally different opinions of its condition. If you MUST sell a used item, then make sure you state ALL the defects in the auction and take close-up pictures of them. Make things sound worse than they really are so when the buyer gets it, they get it in better condition than they expected.

Anyway, I hope these tips are helpful to anyone who might be reading this right now.

I will never ship internationally again. Going through my case with this buyer on ebay: fizzytizz (Tiffany Lanzing). I loss money and product. She bought from me and open a case that she never receive the item. The case was open right after the item was sent to her address. It was confirm she received it. She stated she never got it. eBay / Paypal of course favor on her side. Even with my receipt of confirm and acceptance I still loss this case. This is an experience I hope other seller will not encounter with her. Just talking about this makes me mad. I will be on the look for this buyer if she ever try to purchase from me again! fizzytizz aka Tiffany Lanzing. Sorry, but i just had too google her name up and I found her! she's all over google. Including her address that I ship my item too. CAN'T TRUST THIS PERSON! I wont waste my time fighting. I already loss this case. But Ill remember this scammer!

What about me? As a buyer I was also ripped off by the seller which was supported by eBay. When I was in USA I bought items from eBay's "buy it now" not an "auction". They were supposed to arrive before my departure back to home country but unfortunately it came late (the seller listing stated that it should arrive before my departure date). I used my brother address to to send the items. Since I could not receive them then I asked my brother to return the items (unopened) to sender/seller. The seller was very angry since I bypassed the RMA process and would charge me with restocking fee of 20% plus 2 x shipping cost (totally over USD 200). When I opened the case and escalated the case to eBay, the decision was made by eBay at selelr's favor. The case was closed saying "We received tracking information from the seller that shows the item was delivered to your address or will be arriving shortly". When I called eBay, somebody at eBay said that it was my mistake that I returned the items so it was up to the seller to refund me or return back the goods or do nothing since eBay could not protect me anymore with this case. What a stupid eBay! It seemed that eBay buyer protection policy had tossed me to the sky to free fall. Don't trust in eBay buying protection!

About Me

I am hardworking, living life the best I can as I wait to win the lotto, like every one else. I enjoy life. I figure if I don’t win the lotto I will just have to earn my money the hard way, by working hard.

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We should try and get eBay to put some sort of seller insurance for when things like this happen. If enough people tell them they will not sell or buy anymore until it is, there they might look into it.